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Forbes
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test Drive: 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 — Last Driver's Car?
The 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 is going away soon, and that's a little depressing because supposedly it's going to come back as an EV. I'm honestly shocked Porsche is doing that, because this car is so beloved and many driving enthusiasts consider the 718 Boxster, and its Cayman coupe twin, two of the best driver's cars you can buy right now. More importantly, the transition to electric cars is going to be a tough for Porsche because, like Dodge, Porsche's fan base loves internal combustion engines, and I specifically love the exhaust note these horizontally opposed 4.0-liter engines make. I'm going to miss that sound, and a lot of the other aspects of these cars when they go full EV. We've been seeing a lot of back-and-forth on the EV transition in the past few months. Dodge has already turned the corner, going back toward internal combustion engines because it knows that's what Dodge's customers want. We'll see if Porsche reconsiders getting rid of the 718 Boxster and Cayman in the U.S. like it did in Europe, but for now you can still buy one…though not for much longer if things don't change. Contact your local Porsche dealer to see about configuring a 718 Boxster GTS 4.0. Porsche 718 Boxster: Fast and Light, and Functional While the base 718 Boxster features a turbocharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with 300 horsepower, this 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 is powered by a 4.0-liter, six-cylinder engine. It makes 394 hp and either 309 pound-feet of torque with the 6-speed manual, like this test car has, or 317 pound-feet of torque when equipped with the 7-speed PDK auto. The drivetrain is good for either a 4.3 second 0-to-60 time with the manual or 3.8 second 0-to-60 time with the PDK. It's the same story in the quarter mile, where the 6-speed manual is good for 12.4 seconds while the PDK gets there in about 12 seconds. It's common with modern day drivetrain technology that manuals are a little slower than their automatic counterparts. And most driving enthusiasts don't care; they still want the manual, even with its theoretically inferior performance. The manual version of the 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 does provide a weight advantage, at 3,172 pounds versus 3,241 pounds for the PDK. In a world drowning in two-ton 'sports cars' like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and Ford Mustang GTD, the Porsche Boxster is floating on air at 3,200 pounds, and you can feel it with every driver input. While the 718 Boxster retains its light weight, Porsche did swap its hydraulic-assisted steering for electric-assist steering over a decade ago. That's often a hit to driver enjoyment, but Porsche has figured out how to simulate mechanical steering feedback with computer code, giving the 718 Boxster effective front-end 'feel' through the wheel. It works well with the Boxster's inherent balance from its mid-engine chassis, building confidence through corners and under braking. There's also a practical element to mid-engine sports cars, with many offering two storage areas – one in the front ("frunk") and one in the back (a traditional trunk). In the Porsche 718 Boxster 4.0 GTS, the frunk provides 5.3 cubic feet of storage space and the trunk delivers another 4.4 cubic feet. That's a total of 9.7 cubic feet of storage space – pretty good for a two seat roadster, and plenty of room for two efficient packers on a weekend getaway. Porsche 718 Boxster: Pretty on the Inside, Too Sitting in the 718 Boxster you're presented with Porsche's traditional three pod gauge cluster, featuring a big central tachometer (complete with 'GTS' lettering to remind you which Boxster trim you're driving) flanked by a speedometer on the left and a digital display screen in the right pod. With the GTS trim's included 'Sport Chrono' package, the steering wheel provides a knob on the lower right to adjust the Boxster's driving modes. These modes range from Normal to Sport to Sport+, or an 'Individual' mode, with the changing mode briefly displayed in that right display screen. Additional data is available in that right digital display, which can be scrolled through using a rotating wheel in the right steering wheel spoke. Examples include engine temp, oil pressure, tire pressure, lateral G-forces, audio system information, and a map with navigation guidance. The 'GT Sport Steering wheel' on our test car also had a left steering wheel spoke with volume and phone controls, along with attractive contrast stitching on supple black leather. The black steering wheel and dash leather was contrasted with crimson red leather (dubbed 'Bordeaux Red' by Porsche) on the seats and door panels. Optional 'Adaptive Sport Seats Plus', with 18 directional controls and memory settings, flanked a center stack with buttons for traction and stability control, the exhaust system, auto stop-start, suspension settings, and the soft top, which will raise and lower in 9 seconds at speeds up the 31 mph. There was also a 7-inch touchscreen with Porsche's PCM navigation system sitting above climate controls that included heated and ventilated seats. While both the clarity and tactile quality of the secondary controls are impressive, a sport car's most important controls are the steering, throttle, brakes, and shifter, ideally all working together in harmony. In the 718 Boxster, they do. Despite my skepticism regarding electric-assist steering, Porsche has made it intuitive and progressive in this convertible. Combined with the engine's broad torque band (and intoxicating exhaust note), plus the engaging 6-speed shifter and confident brakes, the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 is indeed one of the best drivers cars you can buy. For now. Porsche 718 Boxster: He Who Snoozes… But if you want one, you better hurry. The base Porsche 718 Boxster, with the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine, starts at $76,895. That one won't include the GTS' 4.0-liter engine or Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) unless you add them to your order. The 718 Boxster 'Style Edition' and 'S' trims add some equipment for $83,295 and $88,895, respectively, but you have to pony up for the $103,795 GTS 4.0 trim to get the naturally-aspirated, horizontally-opposed 6-cylinder engine. And trust me, it's worth the extra cost. Our test car had several additional options and rang in at $121,005. Think of the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 as a super Mazda Miata, another fabulous driver's car. The Miata costs about one-third the price of the 718 Boxster, and if you never drive the Porsche you'll be fine with Mazda's roadster. So don't test drive a 718 Boxster unless you can afford it! If you can afford one, you should move quickly. Cars like the 2025 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 are not becoming more common as time passes, so get one while you can.
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Why Brazil's rare earth deposits could catch major attention
Lynas looks to Brazil and Malaysia for ionic clay opportunities to loosen China's grip on supply These countries boast significant ionic clay resources which hold a number of advantages over hard rock We chat to Brazilian Critical Minerals and highlight several other ASX players in the region As Chinese export curbs send rare earth prices through the roof, Lynas (ASX:LYC) could be plotting a Brazilian breakout that would loosen Beijing's stranglehold on the materials powering the world's transition to EVs. While a mega merger with America's MP Materials isn't currently on the cards, the company – now the largest producer of separated rare earths outside China after producing its first batch of dysprosium oxide in May and terbium in June – is reportedly eyeing ionic clay deposits in Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, Brazil, where vast granite belts have been slowly cooking up rare earth riches for eons. Through millennia of weathering, rare earth elements (REEs) leach from the parent rock and accumulate in clay-rich deposits containing kaolinite and halloysite – creating concentrated, potentially economic rare earth resources. These resources are typically found in subtropical climates, like Malaysia, parts of Brazil, China and Myanmar. The beauty of these deposits is their promise for simpler, cost-effective extraction. Hard rock deposits, such as Lynas' 106.6Mt Mt Weld project (averaging 4.12% TREO), typically offer higher rare earth grades but extraction can be energy-intensive, costly and requires complex processing methods like flotation and hydrometallurgy. Ionic clay deposits, on the other hand, are found near surface, making it easier and cheaper to explore, drill and mine. REEs from these types of resources can also be extracted through environmentally friendly processes using solutions with low pH. REE prices up five-fold In an interview with Stockhead, Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) managing director Andrew Reid said this helps explain why rare earths giant Lynas may be looking to invest in ionic clay, despite building its success on hard rock assets like Mt Weld. 'The cost of extraction is so much cheaper than what they're doing in Australia right now,' he said. 'They've already spent an enormous amount of money setting up their project, but it also costs a lot to keep going and they're highly leveraged to the chemical price, particularly for sulphur, because they use a lot of sulphuric acid,' he said. 'I think they've been prudent in looking at other opportunities to source rare earths to their clients that can be done quicker, faster and safer, until now.' Chinese export controls have triggered magnet shortages, leaving some automakers struggling to source rare earth magnets, essential for motors, windshield wipers, speakers, and air conditioners used in both EVs and conventional cars. In retaliation for tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, China in April imposed export limits on seven medium and heavy rare earth elements. Market analysts from Shanghai Metals Market, one of only a handful of price reporting agencies for rare earths, suggest that improving demand may also fuel price increases. In America, buyers have anecdotally been driving prices through the roof to get their hands on suddenly limited supply. 'I was just in the States and Canada over the last few weeks and the rare earth price there has gone ballistic,' Reid said. 'I was hearing of prices up to five times higher than the Chinese price being offered for rare earths right now in the west, but the big question is, how long will that last?" 'Will the Chinese reduce their export controls to rebalance the market? Because they very much want to keep control of the rare earth sector, that's their primary aim,' Reid said. 'They don't want the price to climb and remain high for very long because they don't want to incentivise (competitors).' One of the world's largest ISR projects In Brazil, ionic clay deposits are primarily found in the state of Minas Gerais, particularly within the Pocos de Caldas alkaline complex, while other areas include Bahia, Goias and Amazonas. Brazilian Critical Minerals owns the Ema project within Brazil's northwestern Apuí region, host to one of the world's largest ionic clay rare earth deposits with a resource of 943Mt at 716ppm total rare earth oxides. It includes a starter zone of 341Mt, including high-value magnet rare earths used to make permanent magnets for advanced technology like EVs, wind turbines and particle accelerators. A scoping study completed in February 2025 outlined a post-tax net present value of US$498 million for the Ema project, with an internal rate of return of 55% and a payback period of about two years on capex of just US$55m. The company has now successfully trialled in-situ recovery, which Reid said is the same methodology used in Southeast Asia to extract ionic clays. It's been successful in lowering the in-situ pH to levels that demonstrate clear migration of magnesium sulphate throughout the clay layers, indicating that REEs are now at a stage where they can be effectively ionically leached into solution. 'We are the only project in the Western world that has been successful at extracting clays by ISR, which significantly derisks the project' he said. 'You need a very niche set of criteria in order to be able to execute ISR and we just happen to have those at Ema. 'Hopefully there are more that are discovered but at the moment we're the only ones where you can apply this very cheap technology to the extraction of rare earths – that's a very big kudos to the sector and certainly a big kudos for Brazil.' Other ASX rare earth players in Brazil Axel REE (ASX:AXL) operates the Caladão project in the prolific mining province of Minas Gerais, Brazil where mineralisation is found within a thick regolith profile, rich in clay minerals such as REEs and gallium. The company recently hit up to 2m at 124g/t gallium from surface in its latest round of drilling while auger drilling revealed the presence of rare earth mineralisation, peaking at 11m at 2718 parts per million total rare earth oxide from 6m, with three more intersections grading above 1200ppm TREO. Existing exploration at Caladão covers only about 20% of the total 430km2 project area, offering plenty of potential for further discoveries. These latest drilling results will support a maiden resource or gallium and rare earth elements at Area B, with calculations for Area A's mineral resource already underway via SRK Consulting, a mineral exploration services firm. Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) is in the middle of planning the next exploration phase at its Raptor project in Brazil, home to ionic adsorption clay (IAC) style REE mineralisation. This type of asset boasts several advantages including being enriched with a higher proportion of the more valuable REEs like praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium. So far, metallurgical testing has demonstrated high recoveries of up to 94% for key magnet rare earth elements with initial drilling intersecting high-grade mineralisation, returning a standout 1m interval grading up to 8029ppm TREO. The company is hoping the next campaign will support its pathway towards delivering a maiden resource, which is possible for as early as late calendar year 2025. Other objectives of the program include extending known mineralisation and exploring new targets. PEC is also exploring for lithium, tin and caesium in minerals rich Brazil, confirming on Wednesday that drilling at its Igrehinha project had hit both lithium host mineral spodumene and caesium host mineral pollucite. And Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) is planning a maiden auger drill program at its Pimenta projec t in Minas Gerais, Brazil, focusing on a 20km high-grade rare earths-gallium-titanium zone. Drilling will follow recent reconnaissance work which returned up to 25,817ppm total rare earth oxide (TREO), with an average of 25% high value magnet rare earths (MREO) over 147 samples. VRL, which also owns gold resources in WA's Laverton district, believes the results to date confirm a mineralisation style potentially similar to American Rare Earths' (ASX:ARR) Halleck Creek allanite REE deposit with a 2.63Bt at 3292ppm TREO resource, one of the largest in the US. Importantly, the REE geochemical signature remains consistent between rock and regolith samples, supporting a model of vertical enrichment via residual weathering.
News.com.au
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Real reason for car giant's ‘woke' nightmare
If you've looked at any Jaguar headlines right now, they would all tell you the same thing: 'Catastrophic sales result following the brand's 'botched', woke' rebrand.' However, these obnoxious headlines overlook a vital aspect of the situation. Jaguar intentionally halted production at the end of 2024, a move that extended into early 2025 in some European regions, as part of a planned transition to become an EV-only brand. It is true that Jaguar sales in Europe plunged 97.5 per cent according to the latest sales data by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. The British luxury carmaker registered just 49 vehicles in Europe in April, compared with 1,961 cars in the same month last year. Sales between January and April plummeted 75.1 per cent, with just 2,665 cars sold across the European continent. May wasn't much better, showing a 93.6 per cent drop. Overall, sales have declined 77.8 per cent year to date compared to 2024. These numbers aren't faltering in the slightest, and frankly, Jaguar would likely prefer to be further along in its EV transition process. However, key details surrounding the brand's strategy to move all of its inventory to EVs are the missing puzzle pieces to many of these very misleading stories. The company has delayed the release of its flagship model, a four-door GT. The EV, expected to cost around $US200,000, won't be available until late 2025, according to The New York Post. And stopping the production of the entire petrol and diesel Jaguar line-up while the company rebranded and developed its future EV flagship was all along the plan. Was it the best plan? Probably not, but at least it's not as if this sales drop occurred while Jaguar continued to produce cars. All of this is simply to say, don't read too much into low sales figures for Jaguar just yet. Currently, the brand's strategy appears to be a deliberate pause for a reset, rather than an indication of failure. The real test will come when Jaguar re-enters the market with a higher price point and a fully electric line-up. If it can win buyers over, it could mark a remarkable return for one of the industry's most iconic names.
Car and Driver
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Senate Could Block California's Self-Imposed Emission Standards
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate looks to remove the EPA waivers that allow California's strict emission regulations. The move could prevent California's plan to ban all diesel- and gas-only new passenger vehicle sales by 2035. A Senate vote could happen sometime this week, and the decision could also impact state trucking industry regulations. California's plan to ban the sale of new diesel- and gasoline-only-powered vehicles by 2035 is facing a serious challenge this week, as Republican senators are targeting the three waivers that allow the state to enforce rules that exceed federal law. California alone makes up 11 percent of all new passenger vehicle sales in the United States. With many other states adopting its emissions rules, the CARB rules could affect as much as 40 percent of the market, forcing an industry shift. If the Senate successfully blocks these waivers, the push for an EV transition could slow or stall. Currently, plans laid out by California Governor Gavin Newsom require a rising percentage of zero-emission passenger vehicles over the next decade. By 2027, the new car mix should be 43 percent electrified or hydrogen-powered, rising to 68 percent by 2030, and finally 100 percent in 2035. Plug-in hybrids would still count as electrified vehicles, but not standard hybrids. The used-car market wouldn't be affected by the law. There's also a rule regarding medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on the books. Among the new ones sold, 40 to 75 percent would need to be zero-emission by the 2035 deadline, replacing their usual diesel powertrains. Further, a CARB rule featuring stricter testing limits for particulate matter and nitrogen oxides is also on the chopping block. Some automakers will likely view a relaxation of the California emissions standards with some relief, as their representatives have called the 2035 deadline unfeasible. SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, has also spoken out against California's EV mandate, claiming that jobs are on the line for small businesses. Even if the waivers are rescinded or blocked, California lawmakers have indicated a willingness to sue. Several states are already suing the federal government over funds allocated for building out the public charging network. There's sure to be much political maneuvering as the issue plays out, and we'll update this story once the results of the Senate vote are announced. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
